South Korea is at the leading edge of semiconductor manufacturing as the second largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, with a 44% share of the global market in memory semiconductor. On the flip side, some key materials, parts and equipment are heavily dependent on imports, especially from Japan. In an effort to grapple with its heavy import dependency on key materials, Korea Water Resources Corp (hereafter ‘K-water’), a state-owned corporation that manages water resources in South Korea, advances a scheme for localization of the ultrapure water technology which is essential in semiconductor manufacturing.
In a world of increasing globalization, cross-border trade has ballooned in the past several decades, and so did the expansion of global supply networks. The global semiconductor supply chain has also been established across the globe. This global model, however, turned out to be in a state of flux with, for example, geopolitical risks, logistics uncertainties, natural or health disasters, or changes to trade policy. In the past few years, many unprepared industry stakeholders found themselves vulnerable to the unforeseen volatility which made the national and global economy wobble.
Importantly, solid geographic specialization exacerbates the crisis; according to the report by Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), about 75% of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity is concentrated in China and East Asia, a region significantly exposed to high seismic activity and geopolitical tensions. To alleviate supply chain volatility and make their local economy resilient, each government of dominant countries in the semiconductor industry – U.S, China, Japan, and South Korea – respectively put their efforts aggressively to diversify and broaden the supply of several critical materials. K-water, notably, contributes to the governmental actions to promote long-term semiconductor supply chain resilience by developing ultrapure water technology independently by 2025.
Ultrapure water is essential for thirsty semiconductors, particularly at the nanometer level, because, for chips to be rinsed, large amounts of special industrial solvent is needed in all fabs: the ultrapure water. It is pure enough to remove debris including ions, particles, and silicas from the manufacturing process and to prevent the chips from being contaminated. The demand for highly-purified water is on the rise as high value-added industries such as semiconductors, microelectronics pharmaceuticals, bio and precision chemistry are expanding.
According to the explanation from K-water, in ultrapure water production technology, the design of a system that combines and arranges unit processes is the core technology. Thus, the development of technology to design the array of unit processes for ultrapure water production is significant. However, the patent analysis revealed that three Japanese companies occupied 71% of the world’s patents on ultrapure water production. Although a few companies have completed the commercialization of core technologies, there is still a lack of field tests to evaluate the long-term performance of products. Hence, K-water, as a state-run agency, will be at the head of construction of a test-bed capable of evaluating the performance of domestic products for localization of ultrapure water production.
K-water has been investing in the R&D for ultrapure water since 2011, and holds a technical capability and infrastructure to complete the localization of ultrapure technology in a timely manner. In 2013, it succeeded in establishing its own ultrapure water production Pilot plant (25㎥/day) for semiconductors. As a result of the Pilot plant operation study, three patents were acquired, including the one which can stably produce ultrapure water and reduce drug use by predicting the breakthrough point of the ion exchange resin. The company’s own technology accurately predicts the breakpoint of the ion exchange resin and cleans the drug just before the breakthrough occurs, which has the advantage of reducing the annual drug use due to a longer drug cleaning cycle compared to the existing operation method. In addition, K-water developed an operation system that can predict the quality and operating cost of ultrapure plants by unit process in real time. The company is now participating in the construction and operation of places (5 sites, 430,000//day) for highly-pure water production.
K-water has set the lofty goal of gaining an advantage over Japan, the world’s leader in the ultrapure water industry. It is planning to establish the K-Semiconductor Purewater Platform; to install and operate a demonstration plant with capability of producing 2,400 tons of ultrapure water a day by 2025, and when this is completed, up to 60% of ultrapure water processes will be localizable. With strong interconnection with academia and domestic companies, it will make investments to nurture professional talents in the industry. Based on water supply experience accumulated for a long period of time and nationwide water operation & management network, K-water is confident to develop optimal water processing method and ultrapure technology and provide custom-made total solution for secure water supply. It will promote national economic development, including joint entry into overseas markets, by establishing a new value chain with domestic companies.
In fact, semiconductors are the world’s fourth-most-traded product after only crude oil, refined oil, and cars. Today’s mobile phone users are not likely to put much thought into the fact that they are benefiting from the complex cross-border collaboration in research, development, design, and manufacturing amongst hundreds of firms. All countries are interdependent in this integrated global supply chain, based on free trade around the world to the optimal location for performing each part. Since South Korea has cutting-edge chip sector infrastructure, its long-term ambitions are sensible. With adequate funding in place, it could become a leading global developer this decade. Furthermore, the government’s advances in microelectronics technology, which can be spurred by K-water’s contribution to localize ultrapure water production process, will make Korea a remarkably powerful and versatile electronic parts provider flowing through the 2030 global supply chain.
Kayla Hong
Asia Journal
